I was a little surprised at that one, but re-reading it to copyedit the text for publication, I guess it is pretty good. It wasn’t one of the top posts of last year, traffic-wise, but I think it’s useful, and am happy to have it included.

(It’s interesting, though, that every time I’ve been included (three times so far), it’s been for this sort of meta-science article, rather than any of my physics explanations (which I generally regard as more important than the meta material). I’m not sure that means anything, though.)

There’s a bunch of good stuff on that list, and if you’re looking for something good to read, you could spend a lot of time getting through it all.

Related

Comments

Dear Chad Orzel: Read your “doggy” book…and now reflecting.
On page 18 you mention sound waves bending around corners and that that is why we can hear things behind a chair or wall (etc). Have you ever been inside an anechoic sound chamber? I did that once while I was in the military and it was enlightening. IN fact, I’ve never ‘heard’ such silence. It felt like when I spoke that the sound waves (my words) just dropped off my bottom lip and fell to the floor…my voice would not travel…not even 3 inches! I could also hear the blood gushing through my arteries because of the solid medium of my body more than anything else. SO I was thinking that if inside one of those chambers and a chair was place between you and the sound source that also the sound would NOT bend around the chair and reach your ears. If the ‘cones’ from the chamber are absorbing the sound waves even before they get but 3 inches from my lips then why would they travel around a chair (solid object)? You should go into one and test this out!!

It’s interesting, though, that every time I’ve been included … it’s been for this sort of meta-science article

It may mean that your meta material is more accessible to more people. I like science, and I don’t think I’m especially dumb, but I have trouble following many of your physics explanations, except the ones where you’re talking to Emmy (which, oddly, you haven’t posted as many of lately), just because I don’t have the necessary background.

I get farther into some than into others, but rarely all the way to the end. I’ve been assuming that the audience for those posts are people with a deeper science background than mine. (I.e.: Lest it seem that way, I’m not complaining, just providing a science observer’s – as opposed to practitioner’s – perspective.)

Books

You've read the blog, now try the books:

Eureka: Discovering Your Inner Scientist will be published in December 2014 by Basic Books. "This fun, diverse, and accessible look at how science works will convert even the biggest science phobe." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "In writing that is welcoming but not overly bouncy, persuasive in a careful way but also enticing, Orzel reveals the “process of looking at the world, figuring out how things work, testing that knowledge, and sharing it with others.”...With an easy hand, Orzel ties together card games with communicating in the laboratory; playing sports and learning how to test and refine; the details of some hard science—Rutherford’s gold foil, Cavendish’s lamps and magnets—and entertaining stories that disclose the process that leads from observation to colorful narrative." --Kirkus ReviewsGoogle+

How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog is published by Basic Books. "“Unlike quantum physics, which remains bizarre even to experts, much of relativity makes sense. Thus, Einstein’s special relativity merely states that the laws of physics and the speed of light are identical for all observers in smooth motion. This sounds trivial but leads to weird if delightfully comprehensible phenomena, provided someone like Orzel delivers a clear explanation of why.” --Kirkus Reviews "Bravo to both man and dog." The New York Times.

How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is published by Scribner. "It's hard to imagine a better way for the mathematically and scientifically challenged, in particular, to grasp basic quantum physics." -- Booklist "Chad Orzel's How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is an absolutely delightful book on many axes: first, its subject matter, quantum physics, is arguably the most mind-bending scientific subject we have; second, the device of the book -- a quantum physicist, Orzel, explains quantum physics to Emmy, his cheeky German shepherd -- is a hoot, and has the singular advantage of making the mind-bending a little less traumatic when the going gets tough (quantum physics has a certain irreducible complexity that precludes an easy understanding of its implications); finally, third, it is extremely well-written, combining a scientist's rigor and accuracy with a natural raconteur's storytelling skill." -- BoingBoing